‘Outsourced’ Offers A Glimpse Of Indian Youth In A Globalized World
Posted by anastasia on 01-21-2009
Today’s Ypulse Youth Advisory Board post is from Akanksha Aurora about the movie “Outsourced” — I actually hadn’t heard about this film until reading her review (will definitely rent it now!). Remember, you can communicate directly with any member of the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board by emailing them at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com…or just leave a comment!
‘Outsourced’ Offers A Glimpse Of Indian Youth In A Globalized World
I recently saw a film called “Outsourced” — the title pretty much says what it’s about. Although its central theme is outsourcing of jobs for cost-cutting, it also touches upon many youth-centric ideas at the same time. In his debut movie, John Jeffcoat adeptly guides the audience through the labyrinth of global economics, relationships, resilience and the potential of youth while incorporating delightful cultural twists throughout.
Countless Westerners fear being in a situation like Todd Anderson’s (played by relative newcomer Josh Hamilton, having appeared earlier only in minor roles on TV shows such as “Sex and the City”) — they fear having their jobs outsourced to alien and seemingly remote countries like mine. Todd earns his living “selling kitsch to redneck schmucks.” His entire department ends up being “outsourced,” and he is sent to India to train his replacement. His initial skepticism, romantic encounter with an Indian girl (played by Ayesha Dharkar who previously appeared in the international award winning film “The Terrorist”), misunderstood name (Mr. Toad!) and eventual love of the country are all followed through in a light-hearted manner that doesn’t overwhelm the viewer.
There were several instances within the movie that highlighted the characteristics of both Indian youth and youth globally. The first is the exceptionally inquisitive mindset of youth. When Todd starts to train them about using an American accent when answering calls, several appear to object to this deceptive cover, and one even demands justification. Another is that globally, the cultural gap is far from being bridged. When jobs are outsourced from multinational companies to India, factors such as cultural intricacies are never weighed against the benefit of cheap labor. The ignorance of Indian youth to Western culture and vice-versa is effectively showcased when we see both sides failing to understand the viewpoint of the other without much explanation.
Fascination by foreign products is another aspect that is relevant to youth all over the world today. In the movie, we see merchandise that is considered “crap” by Todd invoking eager curiosity among the young Indian employees working at the office. It is more likely that this fascination is caused by the foreign labels on these products rather than the products themselves.
The romance within the movie also embodies a youth trend since Todd’s love interest happens to be engaged. Still, she carries on a relationship with Todd as though single; even though this is a big deal in a country like India. This portrays a new generation of youth that doesn’t shy away from taboos and is eager to experiment.
Lastly and most importantly is the way Indian youth approach work. At a time when the entire call center was flooded, and the workers were forced to shift onto a terrace to carry on their operations, they were adaptable and ready to work in any circumstances. “Outsourced” also showcases their resilience and flexibility in terms of job opportunities – when Todd informs them that the center in India has to be shut down, and they have to start looking for new jobs, everyone is surprisingly unfazed. We also see their overwhelming optimism and ability make light of the situation as they seemed happy at the possibility of vacation.
I really enjoyed “Outsourced” in more ways than one, and think it will appeal to both Indian and global audiences.
About Akanksha
By the time she got to the much-dreaded, self-esteem destroying wasteland also known as high-school, Akanksha began to develop an interest in writing. Suddenly, all the words she ever knew began to creep into her dreams, and discover all her darkest thoughts and feelings, before silently but permanently immersing themselves within her soul and transforming themselves into fiction. In addition to that, the French language is her drug and acne is her worst enemy. She laughs a little too much and is a romantic in the extreme sense.
Categorized under: International, Movies & Music, Youth Advisory Board